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Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire Matthew Ellis has highlighted that much of the loss of officers in the area happened before he was in the job.

Mr Ellis said: "The major reduction in officer numbers took place between 2010 and 2013, before I came to office.

"Since then, there has been an increase in the number of PCSO's providing valuable neighbourhood policing. New mobile technologies allow our police officers to work more efficiently on the beat and reduce the time spent by officers sitting behind desks."

Mr Ellis did however claim that he believes that the police force needs to be as transparent as possible with the government to keep the country safe.

He said: "But with increased threat levels we need to have an open channel between the PCC and central government to find ways to address new challenges and ensure our residents are protected and feel safe," he said.

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On a national level, statistics taken in March show that a total 123,142 police officers were a part of the 43 police forces across Britain.

That is a shocking 20,592 less than the 143,734 employed back in 2010.

This is the lowest number of police officers employed in the country at the end of a financial year since notable records began in 1996. Records before this were not directly comparable as figures were collected differently back then, show the figures.